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Monthly Archives: November 2010

MAC is looking to you to be the face of its 2011 Fall campaign, called Mac Me Over. Through December 20, U.S. consumers can enter by at www.macmeover.com by finishing this sentence “MAC Me Over because…”

Cover Girl set to launch natural beauty line called NatureLuxe in January 2011. [StyleBistro]

Do you love the Q like we do? Check out this New York Times article on how QVC is transforming its business digitally.

Happy Friday everyone! Looking back on this week, it’s been the week of the Hair Bungee. Now that my hair is growing out, I often throw it back in a ponytail or messy bun. And I inevitably fidget with it all day long and end up with creases galore in my locks. Enter the Hair Bungee. I first started using this after it came in the November Birchbox. At first it confused me, but now I prefer it to my regular elastic bands. It’s this week’s Beauty VIP for being a simple solution to wearing my hair up. I put together a brief Hair Bungee tutorial to show you just how easy it is to put this in your hair.

The dry skin doldrums have kicked in and exfoliation is top of mind for me. It’s so important to get rid of dead skin build-up all year, but especially in the winter. I like a more gentler formula for everyday in the cold months so I don’t irritate my skin, and I think I’ve discovered the perfect, budget-friendly option: Tone Sugar Glow Exfoliating Body Wash.

Tone’s Sugar Glow is a creamy formula with fine exfoliating granules. It smells fruity and sweet, and lathers up nicely. My skin gets a good scrub down with this, and I’m pretty sure the huge bottle I picked up for $6 will last forever….or at least until next winter. If you go to Tone’s Facebook page you can also download a $1 off coupon, making this steal an even better deal!

The other Ulta exclusive I picked up last week was Smashbox’s Perfect Smoky Eye Kit. At a dollar less than the Tarte set, this set includes a full size Limitless Eye Liner in Smoke (shimmering dark grey), Waterproof Shadow Liner in Envy (sparkling black) and Shadow Liner #30 brush. QVC has had sets similar to this in the past but my wallet likes this one much better… and the exclusive shade.

What I love about Smashbox’s Shadow Liners is that they are a fool-proof way to get that smudged eyeliner look, and with this shade, a fool-proof smoky eye. The cream formula goes on like an eyeshadow but without leaving any fallout behind and it’s just so easy to blend. My only issue with these is that I don’t have more of them!

My thoughts on Benefit’s POREfessional are long overdue. Especially since I bill this as somewhat of a wonder product that I use all the time. Seriously, my tube is so “loved” (a.k.a. battered) because it lives permanently in my purse and is abused by all of the stuff I cram in there!

I picked this up on a whim on a Sephora visit this past summer. It was hot, humid and the end of a long work-day, and I took one look in the mirror at Sephora and gasped. I looked shiny and my pores were all exposed — it was not good. I happened to see this product and thought, why not, let’s just dab this on my face. And in an instant, I looked normal — maybe even better than I did that morning before braving the day.

I’ve tried it under makeup, as a traditional primer, but I find it works best over makeup in the areas where my pores look enlarged or I just need a little smoothing over. I usually apply in my tzone and around my nose about mid-day or so. I’m not the type to reapply makeup, but this is easy and it WORKS! Can’t be without this one.

I have a hard time saying “no” to the products near the cash register at Ulta and Sephora. I am easily swayed and almost always go past the figure I tell myself I will not exceed when I walk in the door. Last time I was at Ulta, I caved on two sets, one of them was Tarte’s hEYE Impact set. For only $15.99, how could I pass it up? Especially since it contained products I have not seen in stores before.

This Ulta exclusive includes 2 full size emphasEYES Clay Shadow Sticks and a deluxe sample of their popular mascara Lights, Camera, Lashes. Is it me or is this the debut of this product? I don’t recall seeing it in Sephora and on Tarte’s or QVC’s websites. The sticks are unnamed but I am dubbing them as “Champagne” and “Bronze”.

There’s just enough sparkle in these shades to give it some glam. The dark chocolate shade is perfect blended into the outer crease and the lighter color is absolutely beautiful all over the lid for a smokey chocolate eye. I find the vanilla highlighter shade to be the perfect base or blender shade and the pink is soft and feminine. I like to wear the pink on its own with just a smidge of dark brown along the lashline.

All in all, very happy that I purchased Chanel’s Tentation Cuivree. It’s a beautiful quad for the holidays! Let us know if you’ve checked this out yet, and if you did, what did you think?

Chanel’s Holiday 2010 Makeup Collection, Les Tentations de Chanel, is very appealing to the bright pink lover in me. When I saw the collection promo, I thought a few things. First, I need that gold clutch purse. Second, I need to recreate that makeup for my own holiday party.

The crux of this look is dependent on a fuchsia cheek, lip and nail. But the collection also mixes in warm, rich chocolates, courtesy of a gorgeous eyeshadow quad that we will review for you soon! Here’s the rundown on the entire collection:

You know the saying, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right? Well, that about sums up how I feel about Bath & Body Works packaging redesign of its anti-bacterial hand soaps, particularly the Gentle Foaming Hand Soaps. Aesthetically, there is nothing wrong. In fact, I like the shorter bottles. My issue lies solely with with the pump. It should be as simple as pressing down, but no matter what I do the soap flies everywhere. I have to carefully cup my hand around the nozzle in order to prevent that from happening. I also notice resistance in pressing down on the pump, which just adds to the problems.

All of the pump malfunctioning appears to impact the formula too. It comes out a little watery and doesn’t have the foaming pizzazz it used to. I’ve tried a few different bottles and even surveyed my sister, also a huge fan of the gentle foaming, and she noted a marked difference in the pump. Time for the packaging engineers to take another stab, please!